How to Obtain Financial Information on a LLC

[vinnie69]

I am in need to get hold of some annual report information (turnover, profit/loss ect) on a small number
of LLCs in various states. Now, here in the Netherlands this sort of information is public at the chamber of commerce,
but I don't know how things are in the States.
Any help would be appreciated!

I am doing a research on the competition in a niche market so I cannot contact these companies directly.

[flyingron]

In the US such information is nearly NEVER available except for corporations that have publicly traded stock.
If you have specific businesses that you are interested, there are companies that specialize in accumulating business information such as Dun & Bradstreet.
They're effectively the credit reporting agency of the business.

[vinnie69]

hm, not so happy with this. But thanks. I will check out the Dun & Bradstreet, they have office here also.
But just out of curiousity. Lets say your a supplier of machines and you get a request from a new client (a LLC) to make a delivery. How do you check if that LLC is OK and not just an empty fraudulent shell or a company that is almost bust?

[flyingron]

D&B would be your best bet.

[aardvarc]

You can also check with your state's Secretary of State, Division of Corporations. Corporate entities are required to at least file an annual report with the state in which they are incorporated. At minimum, these show the registered agent, officers and directors, principal place of business, date of incorporation, corporate status (active/inactive/dissolved), etc. That'll at least get you the basics, but as flyingron pointed out, unless the company is publically traded, access to the level of financial reporting you're seeking is likely to be internal-only. D&B can provide broad views of some information, but even they aren't going to be able to tell you if the company has enough money in the bank today to pay it's bills or for products it orders.